French Revolution

STUDY

PLAY

talented, educated, skilled middle class men. some want to participate in government but cannot because they are not born into nobility

Tennis Court Oath

Delegates of the third estate made an oath not to disband until the National Assembly had drafted a constitution

Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen

states the general belief of how France should treat its people-similar to our declaration.

Sans-culottes

in the French Revolution, a radical group made up of Parisian wage-earners, and small shopkeepers who wanted a greater voice in government, lower prices, and an end of food shortages

Jacobins

don't think they need any type of government at all; they want Louis dead

Committee of Public Safety

12 members, led by Robespierre; 2 primary duties: 1. defend France from those who would seek to stop the revolution.. 2. create a ''republic of virtue''

Reign of Terror

July 1793-1794; neighbor turns on neighbor; anything said turns against oneself and usually ends up getting them guillotined. most people killed were from the 3rd estate

Electors

members of a party chosen in each state to formally elect the president and vice president

Directory

5 co directors

Coup d'etat

seizure of power by force

Consulate

Form of government which followed the directory -established by Napoleon-ended when Napoleon was crowned emperor.

Civil Code/Napoleonic Code

cancels the ''birth'' factor of jobs(just b/c you weren't born in 1st class doesn't mean you can't run for office anymore)

"Old Regime"

the political and social system that existed in France before the French Revolution

Estates-General

The French national assembly summoned in 1789 to remedy the financial crisis and correct abuses of the ancien regime.

The Great Fear

a vast panic that spread quickly through France in 1789; peasant rebellions bacame part of the Great Fear; citizens, fearing invasion by foreign troops that would support the French monarchy, formed militias

National Assembly

French Revolutionary assembly (1789-1791). Called first as the Estates General, the three estates came together and demanded radical change. It passed the Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789. (p. 585)

National Convention

The meeting of party delegates every four years to choose a presidential ticket and write the party's platform.

Girondists

willing to accept Louis as a constitutional monarch

Moderates/"Plain"

didn't have a side, could be either Jacobin or Girondist

"The Mountain"

This was a political party within the National Convention named because the people that made up this party sat on the highest benches in the assembly hall. These people were the activists within the Convention. The Mountain worried that the Girondists would become conservative because of their already moderate beliefs. Although they were in competition with each other, the Mountain eventually won due to their alliance with the Sans-Culottes, resulting in a more radical group of people. The mountains believed in equal outcome.

Liberal

having political or social views favoring reform and progress

Radical

favoring extreme changes, especially in politics and government

conservative

a person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom

Guillotine

a new type of killing system created by Dr.Guillotine, nothing has turned around for them so this is what they turned too

Declaration of Pillnitz

the promise by Austria and Prussia to protect the French monarchy

Consulate

Form of government which followed the directory -established by Napoleon-ended when Napoleon was crowned emperor.

Continental system

Napoleon's policy of preventing trade between Great Britain and continental Europe, intended to destroy Great Britain's economy.

Dictatorship

form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority

Plebescite

Expression of the people's will by direct ballot

Conscription (Draft)

required enrollment into the military

Unicameral

composed of one legislative body

Bicameral

composed of two legislative bodies

Reactionaries

Extremists who oppose a change and want to turn the clock back to the time before certain changes occurred

Louis XIV

Built many cultural aspects, very famous for Versailles. Part of the Bourbon family...ladies man

Louis XV

Louis XIV's grandson, remembered for being a very lazy king. Got france involved in many religious wars, he ran the country dry from the lavish lifestyle he was living

Olympe de Gouge

wrote the "Rights of Women and the Citizen"

Jean Paul Marat

spread word that EVERY possible thing that could go wrong was Louis fault. National assembly wants him to shut up, so he hid in the sewers and developed nasty skin condition

Charlotte Corday

assassinated Jean-Paul Marat b/c she is convinced that the Jacobins are destroying France

George Jacques Danton

leader of the Jacobins and charges

Louis XVIII

brought France back to rule

Alexander I (of Russia)

sided with Napoleon against the British

Louis XVI

inherits the country on the verge of it collapsing; VERY POOR KING-did not do his job; had no interest in anything political, would have rather been a locksmith. married Marie Antionette at a very young age

Marie Antoinette

King Louis' wife, austrian, loathed by the country. very oblivious. "Hamlet of Marie Antionette"

M. Robespierre

"man that can do no wrong" "incorruptible", incredible speaking skills, most virtuous man alive, drove the revolution off the cliff. after passed was questioned to be mentally ill

Napoleon Bonaparte

ruler of france from 1799-1815; made many promises to France that he would fix all their problems, almost like a dictatorship. he takes advantage of the open slot for a leader that France has